The Water Cooler: UFC Fight Night 36 Edition

Gegard Mousasi is 21-1-1 in his last 23 appearances. | Photo
Taro Irei/Sherdog.com

When Lyoto
Machida and Gegard
Mousasi decided to plot the same course, it became a virtual
lock that their paths would someday intersect.

Two of the more intriguing figures in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 185-pound weight class,
Machida and Mousasi will lock horns in the
UFC Fight Night 36 main event on Saturday at the Arena Jaragua
in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil. The winner could find himself knocking
on the door to a title shot, as the MMA world awaits the showdown
between middleweight champion Chris
Weidman and Vitor
Belfort in May.

Mousasi will enter the cage on a four-fight winning streak. The
28-year-old former Dream and
Strikeforce
champion last fought at UFC on Fuel TV 9 in April, when he cruised
to a unanimous decision over Ilir Latifi
at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. He then underwent
reconstructive knee surgery and has been sidelined ever since. A
potent finisher with exceptional all-around skills, Mousasi has
delivered 29 of his 34 career victories by knockout, technical
knockout or submission.

The UFC Fight Night 36 lineup provides plenty of water cooler
fodder. We discuss some of it here:

Whitman: If Machida is victorious, do you think he should
get a middleweight title shot or would you prefer to see him have
one more fight?
Knapp: Not that what I think matters all that much, but I still
believe he would be one win away from challenging for the belt.
Personally, I would like to see Machida paired with Ronaldo
Souza -- provided they are both victorious -- in a title
eliminator, perhaps as the co-main event to the Weidman-Belfort
headliner at UFC 173.

Whitman: Conversely, what would you like to see for Gegard
Mousasi moving forward, should he best “The Dragon” on Saturday in
Brazil?
Knapp: First and foremost, Mousasi needs to stay healthy. He
certainly has the tools and experience to challenge for the
middleweight championship someday soon, but he has only fought
twice since December 2011 and his UFC debut against Latifi, while
successful, did not exactly inspire the masses. Should Mousasi
upend Machida, a matchup with Luke
Rockhold would be of definite interest, if the American
Kickboxing Academy ace defeats Tim Boetsch
at UFC 172.

Photo:
Alan Ribeiro de Oliveira/Sherdog.com

Silva has plenty to prove.

Whitman: Erick Silva
came out of the blocks on fire but has since slowed down
considerably. Are we still looking at a future welterweight
contender or have your expectations been lowered?
Knapp: My expectations have been lowered -- and significantly so.
Silva turns 30 this summer, and while he remains in his competitive
prime, it is hard to overlook the fact that two of his three
victories in the UFC have come against Charlie
Brenneman, who has since downshifted to lightweight, and
Jason
High, a middle-tier welterweight who has also pondered a move
to 155 pounds. At this level, results matter far more than
potential, and so far, the results are just not there for
Silva.

Whitman: The same might be asked about Charles
Oliveira, though there is no shame in a 24-year-old coming up
short against the likes of Cub Swanson
and Frankie
Edgar. Do you see “Do Bronx” getting back to his winning ways
at the expense of Andy
Ogle?
Knapp: I think Oliveira has a higher ceiling than Silva because of
his age and the division in which he competes. While I worry about
the amount of damage he has absorbed, he has already beaten
Darren
Elkins and had posted a victory over Nik Lentz
before an illegal knee ruined his night’s work. As past results
have shown, Oliveira is not yet ready to beat the upper-tier
fighters in the featherweight division, so it was a relief to see
the UFC match him with more appropriate opposition. I foresee him
submitting Ogle in the first or second round.

Whitman: Iuri
Alcantara had some wind taken from his sails courtesy of his
loss to Urijah
Faber, but I still think the Brazilian is one of the better
bantamweights on the UFC roster. How much should Alcantara fans
read into his loss to “The California Kid” and will we ever see
Alcantara in the title discussion?
Knapp: Alcantara had Faber in real danger in the first round of
their UFC Fight Night 26 scrap. Only positives can be drawn from
that experience. Yes, Faber rebounded to control rounds two and
three, but I saw nothing from Alcantara that leads me to believe he
is not capable of moving into title contention in the
not-too-distant future, especially at 135 pounds. There, Renan Barao
has already turned away a majority of the current contenders. The
situation is made for a fast climber.

Whitman: It is a shame that cutting to featherweight was so
tough on Rodrigo
Damm’s body, because I was really interested in seeing what he
could do at 145 pounds. With him returning to the deep lightweight
division, do you think Damm will sink or swim?
Knapp: I think he sinks. The lightweight division has a way of
exposing weaknesses, which is probably why the undersized Damm was
hoping to test out the waters at 145 pounds.